Islamist Group Asks Somalis to Shun AstraZeneca Shots on Effects
Somalia received 300,000 AstraZeneca shots two weeks ago, allocated to Somalia through the Covax facility.
Photographer: Dennis Sigwe/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
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Al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based al-Qaeda-linked extremist Islamist group, asked people in the Horn of Africa nation to reject AstraZeneca Plc shots, citing adverse side effects that led European nations to suspend the shots.
“These are countries with far better medical resources than the apostate Somali regime, which doesn’t even have qualified medical personnel or laboratories to assess the efficacy, safety or performance of the vaccine,” according to a statement on a Twitter account associated with the group.